1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to providing increased data accessibility for a personal computing device and, more particularly, to a method and apparatus for allowing rapid access to certain data on a personal computing device that is powered down or otherwise in a power conservation state.
2. Background of the Related Art
This section is intended to introduce the reader to various aspects of art which may be related to various aspects of the present invention which are described and/or claimed below. This discussion is believed to be helpful in providing the reader with background information to facilitate a better understanding of the various aspects of the present invention. Accordingly, it should be understood that these statements are to be read in this light, and not as admissions of prior art.
Since the introduction of the first personal computer (“PC”) over 20 years ago, technological advances to make PCs more useful have continued at an amazing rate. Microprocessors that control PCs have become faster and faster, with operational speeds eclipsing the gigahertz (one billion operations per second) and continuing well beyond.
Productivity has also increased tremendously because of the explosion in development of software applications. In the early days of the PC, people who could write their own programs were practically the only ones who could make productive use of their computers. Today, there are thousands and thousands of software applications ranging from games to word processors and from voice recognition to web browsers.
In addition to becoming more powerful, computers have also become more mobile than ever before over the past few years. Notebook or laptop PCs have been steadily increasing in power while their cases (or footprint) continue to get lighter and more portable.
Another innovation in recent years has been the handheld PC. These ultra-small PCs have revolutionized productivity because they are highly mobile and provide such functions as wireless email connectivity and even internet browsing. Many handheld PCs are operated or controlled by a stylus or pen instead of a keyboard. In spite of these benefits, handheld PCs are not generally as powerful as their full-function desktop or notebook counterparts. Design considerations such as overall size, weight and heat dissipation prevent the use of the most powerful components (microprocessors, for example) in handheld PCs. These same design considerations prevent the use of large amounts of computer memory and other types of storage such as disk drives.
The tablet PC is an emerging type of personal computing device that is designed to incorporate the power of traditional desktop or notebook computers while offering many of the portability and simplicity features available in handheld PCs. For example, tablet PCs may incorporate a full-function processor and a full-function operating system such as Windows XP Professional, which is available from Microsoft Corporation of Redmond, Wash. In addition, tablet PCs may incorporate advanced video graphics capabilities and large hard drive storage capacity. Tablet PCs may additionally incorporate these powerful features while providing the user with the natural simplicity of a pen- or stylus-based interface, such as the interface typically found on a handheld PC. The combination of power and simplicity afforded by tablet PCs will allow support of handwriting recognition, which will make it possible for users to take handwritten notes, create drawings or annotate documents then wirelessly share the information with others.
Advances in computer technology, however, have not come without undesirable side effects. Modern computers are complex machines and they take a significant amount of time to become usable when they are first turned on. This is because most systems go through a power-on self test and various degrees of hardware and software initialization before they are ready for normal operation. Additional factors that may delay the start of normal operation at power-up or awakening from a reduced power state are: (1) BIOS startup, (2) waiting for a network interface card to initialize, including expiration of any timeouts associated with connecting to a network that is not present or providing a weak signal, and (3) hard drive spin-up.
The factors listed above are in addition to other factors such as the speed of a computer's processor (slower processor will result in slower execution of startup code) or the version and type of operating system being run on the computer (every Os has it's own set of initialization requirements that it must perform, such as enumerating Plug and Play devices, etc). Thus, the power-on initialization process may take over one or two minutes before the computer is ready for a user to launch an application program to obtain desired data. After that, the user must still launch the desired application and request access to the needed data. The time before the user actually gets the desired data may be even longer if the computer must connect to a network to access needed data.
The problem of slow data availability is compounded by the fact that modern computers are capable of being placed into a number of low-power consumption states. This feature is especially useful for handheld, notebook and tablet PCs that are capable of running on batteries. The ability to place these types of computers in power saving states contributes to longer periods between recharging the batteries. An industry standard specification known as the Advanced Configuration and Power Interface (“ACPI”) sets forth definitions and requirements for certain low-power states of computer operation. The ACPI specification defines a hibernation state, which the specification refers to by the designation “S4”). The “off” state is referred to in the ACPI specification by the designation “S5.”
In many cases, users of computers need faster access to data when they first power up their computers. A business user may need to quickly obtain the location of a meeting or a business associate's phone number or address. When data is needed expeditiously, the initial delay of a computer powering up can be a significant inconvenience. A method and apparatus of rapidly obtaining information from a computer that is powered down or otherwise in a low-power state is desirable.